Kogiflame
The Jagunmolu of Shao Kingdom and Former Leader, Kwara State House of Assembly in the Second Republic Chief Stephen Wole-Oke, has applauded the seamless selection of the Eleventh Ohoro of Shao, Doctor Job Atolagbe Obalowu the Ayanwola the fourth who completed his seven days traditional rites to cliche the throne.
Chief Wole-Oke who stated this in his reaction to the ascension of the throne of the new Ohoro noted that the Community is set for a new life to be marked with rapid development and physical growth.
The Jagunmolu of Shao Kingdom urged the new King to bring his high level of educational background, coupled and aided by his experience as a university lecturer, into play in his administration of the ancient town.
He also charged him to learn from the history of his predecessors, particularly their devotion and commitment to the well-being of the people and their ineffable passion for the physical development of the town which has today become eternal monuments to their names in Shao.
“A Statistician, he ascended the throne of the OHORO OF SHAO on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, having been traditionally nominated by the King Makers of Shao and duly accepted massively by the people of the town” he explained.
“The High Chiefs of the town, under the leadership of the AJANKII who, traditionally, is the second- in-command to the OHORO, screened all the contestants from all the recognised Ruling Houses of the town and eventually picked a Candidate for the throne. The choice of the King Makers is, by the will and grace of the Almighty God, an erudite academia, Doctor OBALOWU JOB ATOLAGBE, a University Lecturer in the University of Ilorin who successfully passed through all established traditional rites, including a six-day seclusion, as embedded in the culture of Shao, an ancient yoruba town. His choice was officially approved by the Moro Local Government”.
Chief Wole-Oke who traced the history of the town called on the
people of Shao to continue to show love and support for the new king as they have hitherto demonstrated since his choice and nomination by the Kingmaker, which they have massively accepted.
“The traditional rulership, that is, the Kingship, of Shao has its ancestral origin in Old Oyo with the first OHORO of SHAO, being one of the sons of the then ruling ALAFIN of Oyo, Alafin Abiodun Adegbolu whose son, PRINCE OLANIBO was sent to Shao as the first King of the new settlement. Shao having been founded by two migrant adventurous hunters from OLD OYO. Since the founding of the town, there has never been any violent process in choosing a Successor-Ohoro. Equally worth remarking is that, NO external power or authority from anywhere has ever been allowed to interfere in, or dabble into, the process of picking a Successor- Ohoro” he added.
Chief Wole-Oke stressed “Shao kingdom has never been subjected to any military conquest and neither has it been subjugated by any force of invasion that characterised the 18th and 19th centuries.
With the ascension of a new king to the throne, the community is set for a new life to be marked with rapid development and physical growth. The new King, His Royal Majesty, Dr. Obalowu Job Atolagbe, Ayanwola 1V, is set to bring his high level of educational background, coupled and aided by his experience as a university lecturer, into play in his administration of the ancient town”.
The Jagunmolu of Shao Kingdom also appealed to the Kwara State Governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to reconsider the restoration of the grading status of the Ohoro to first class as done by Governor Adamu Atta’s administration in nineteen eighty three but which was, without any justification, withdrawn in 2003 by the administration of Governor Bukola Saraki.
He noted that traditional rulers of other towns graded at the same time in the third Class grade have today been upgraded to First Class Chief status.
The choice of a new Ohoro followed the demise of the Tenth Ohoro of Shao, Oba Bamidele Alabi Adegbite, Ilufemiloye Oyerinde the third who passed on, on the twenty seventh of April this year at the age of Eighty- one years, having reigned for twenty-one years.
